


Reformed

by fandomgurl77



Series: Post-film goings-on [1]
Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: And hungry, Bar, Blackmail, Bribes, Corruption, Disaster, Family, Gen, Hidden - Freeform, Multi, Night, Night-time, Period-Typical Attitudes, Police, Right now, Yahoo, aaahhh!, club, day (night) off, hidden in plain sight, hip hip hooray!, i can't believe this, i don't know what to say, i need a cup of water, i need a pat on the back PALEASE, i was bored, it's ridiculous isn't it, my smile is outside my face, re-opening, so I wrote this, the world's a better place now, three cheers for me, what a good idea, writing makes you thirsty, yay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:42:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24180784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomgurl77/pseuds/fandomgurl77
Summary: Set a month after the events of the movie, the gay club has been re-formed, only this time it is well hidden in more ways than one...Rated T just in case.
Relationships: Thomas Barrow/Richard Ellis
Series: Post-film goings-on [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1869127
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

‘Hey’, a man named Michael said, ‘I’ve got some news for you.’

‘What’s that?’ Barrow asked.

However, the café was filled with customers – all of whom were in earshot.

 _‘Damn!’_ Michael thought, _‘It’s too dangerous to say with all these people around.’_

‘Hmm…’ he replied, ‘Since we’re in a crowded area and could easily be heard, I’ll write it down for you.’

‘Ok’, Barrow said.

**A few seconds later…**

‘Whoa!’ Barrow gasped as he read the piece of paper before whispering as quietly as possible, ‘The club’s reformed?’

‘Yes’, Michael whispered, ‘I decided to reunite everyone after we were released from jail a few days after that disastrous night.’

‘Yes, I remember’, Barrow whispered, ‘It was ironic; my night off just so happened to be when the cops raided the club…’

‘Yes’, Michael whispered, ‘At least you were lucky enough to have that spiffy-looking friend of yours to bail you out.’

‘I thank him for that…’ Barrow whispered when he turned slightly red in the face before realising where he was, ‘Cor blimey; I hope no-one saw that.’

‘I don’t think anyone was looking anyway’, Michael said.

‘Phew!’ Barrow thought, relieved that no-one had seen.

‘So’, Michael whispered as he wrote on the piece of paper, ‘The new name is _The People’s Club_ and it’s located around the corner from here; you won’t miss it with the big sign above the door.’

‘But what about the cops?’ Barrow whispered, ‘We sure as hell don’t want to have them coming to the party again…’

‘No, we don’t…’ Michael whispered, ‘However, looks can be deceiving…’

‘Ohhh…I get it…’ Barrow said before whispering, ‘Hidden in plain sight, eh?’

‘Yes’, Michael said, ‘You can’t tell a thing at first glance.’

**A minute later…**

‘Well’, Barrow said, ‘Thanks for giving me the information.’

‘No problem’, Michael said as they both stood up, ‘I hope to see you there sometime.’


	2. Chapter 2

A few weeks later, Barrow was standing outside the door of _The People’s Club_ at 9:00 at night.

 _‘Michael was right’_ , he thought as he looked in the windows on either side before going inside, _‘It_ does _look like an ordinary bar in there!’_

‘Ah, TB, you’ve arrived’, Michael said as the door closed, ‘Pleased to see you.’

‘Me too’, Barrow said, amazed by the building around them, ‘This is amazing! It looks just like a normal bar in here!’

‘That’s because it is’, Michael said.

‘What?’ Barrow asked with a shocked voice, ‘Since when was what we’re doing “normal?”’

‘You didn’t let me finish’, Michael said, ‘The thing is, this part is a normal bar anyway.’

‘Huh?’ Barrow asked in a confused voice, ‘What do you mean?’

‘Well’, Michael replied, ‘My sister, Monica, works as a waitress here; she’s married to a very forward-thinking but slightly corrupt cop, who I’ve paid to keep his mouth shut about our activities downstairs.’

‘So’, Barrow said, ‘You’re saying that the real place is under here?’

‘Yes’, Michael said, ‘Come with me and I’ll show you.’

‘Ok’, Barrow said as they headed to the back room behind the bar.

**Two minutes later…**

‘What the?’ a dumbfounded Barrow asked upon reaching the bottom of a short flight of stairs, only to be faced with a large, empty space enclosed in a giant brick archway, ‘Where is everything?’

‘Hidden behind the false walls’, Michael replied, ‘Just pull the ropes attached to the pulleys and it will appear.’

‘Ok’, Barrow said before pulling the rope in front of him, causing a section of the wall to turn around and reveal a nicely polished and fully stocked bar with stools.

‘And let’s not forget the piano and band area’, Michael said upon pulling another rope to reveal a shiny black piano on a low, wooden stage.’

And…last but not least’, another man, Daniel, said when he pulled the rope beside him at the other end of the room, ‘The most important item…’

‘What’s tha…’ Barrow said as the tall golden-coloured object came into sight, ‘Oh, my goodness, it’s a grandfather clock!’

‘Yes’, Daniel said, ‘We’ve heard that you have, let’s just say, a bit of an obsession with clocks, and besides, we need to be able to tell the time anyway, so we bought this thing down here.’

‘It…it’s beautiful!’ Barrow exclaimed, ‘It’s like having an exotic animal living in here with us!’

While walking over to the clock, Barrow almost tripped over the edge of something.

‘Blimey’, he said before looking down and seeing a slightly elevated wooden floor spanning the back half of the room, ‘What was that?’

‘That’s the dance floor’, Daniel said, ‘It has room for ‘most everyone when the place is half-full.’

‘Yes’, Michael said, ‘Normally, this whole place is a storage room used for storing extra furniture and seasonal decorations for the bar upstairs.’


	3. Chapter 3

A few days later, however, some suspicious activity caught the attention of a regular patron at the upstairs part of _The People’s Club_.

_‘Hmm…’_ a young university graduate, Gwen, thought when someone walked past her table and behind the bar for the tenth time that evening, _‘Why would anyone be walking behind the bar that frequently if they don’t work here?’_

‘Beats me’, her friend, Amos, said from the other side of the table before he had a marvellous idea, ‘Speaking of which, I have an idea…’

‘What is it?’ Gwen asked.

‘I was thinking that we should uncover the truth together’, Amos replied, ‘We’ll follow the man who just walked past through the doorway behind the bar and see what’s there that keeps drawing him back.’

‘Ok then’, Gwen said as they both stood up and headed for the bar, ‘Just as well you work here part-time as a cleaner.’

**In the back room…**

‘Well’, Amos said, ‘There’s nothing interesting in here apart from the door to the kitchen on the right and the fire exit on the left, plus the Storage Room door right in front of us.’

‘That’s it!’ Gwen said after a few seconds of thinking before whispering, ‘He must have gone downstairs to steal stuff.’

‘Hmm…’ Amos said, ‘Are you sure? That’s a pretty big accusation.’

‘Of course’, Gwen said, ‘I’ve seen the same man and a group of other people come through here for the last week, so something must be going on down there.’

‘Ok then’, Amos said before they opened the door and began descending a flight of stairs as the door shut behind them.

‘Goodness’, Amos whispered, ‘These stairs could sure use some decent lighting…’

‘Yes’, Gwen whispered as they approached a corner in the staircase, ‘The dim lightbulbs in the ceiling fixtures need replacing before someone trips over.’

‘Gwen’, Amos whispered, ‘The storage room is just around this corner. Thankfully, we’re obscured from view by the darkness and the wall, so I’ll peek around to see if we’ve got our man.’

‘Hold on’, Gwen whispered, ‘Since I had the idea of coming down here in the first place, I think I should be the one to take a look.’

‘Ok’, Amos said, ‘Go ahead.’

However, what Gwen witnessed upon looking around the corner truly shocked her.

‘So, Gwen’, Amos whispered when she looked back at him, ‘Did you see him in there?’

‘Take a look for yourself’, Gwen whispered, ‘I can’t believe what I’ve just seen.’

‘What can’t you be…’ Amos began before his eyes drank in the sight before him, after which he faced Gwen again, ‘Whoa!’

‘I know, right?’ Gwen whispered, ‘They’re everywhere down here.’

It was then that Amos remembered seeing something else that Gwen hadn’t.

‘And I’m almost certain that I also saw a fully stocked bar on the other side of the room’, he said.

**A few seconds later…**

‘Goodness’, Gwen said after they returned up the stairs and closed the door, ‘Do you know what I think we have discovered?’

‘What have we discovered then?’ Amos asked.

‘Well, going by what we’ve just seen’, Gwen replied, ‘I believe that we’ve uncovered an illegal bar.’

‘Come to mention it, you’re right’, Amos said, ‘It makes perfect sense.’

‘We better go and report our findings to the cops after we leave here tonight’, Gwen said, ‘We can’t have an unlicensed business operating under our feet – literally.’

‘I suppose you’re right’, Amos said, ‘Let’s go.’


	4. Chapter 4

_Two weeks later, the “hidden” part of_ The People’s Club _was put to the test…_

‘So’, Barrow said to Richard as they completed the journey into the downstairs part of _The People’s Club_ , ‘What do you think of the new location?’

‘It’s amazing!’ Richard said, ‘Thanks for bringing me here tonight.’

‘Oh, you…’ Barrow said while blushing, ‘It was you who decided to come here for your weekend off – all of which I appreciate, of course…’

‘I _knew_ you would say that’, Richard said, ‘I could see it in your eyes that night when I bailed you out of jail.’

‘Yes’, Barrow said, ‘And that kiss the following morning…cor!’

‘I know’, Richard said, ‘Too bad we were interrupted at the _most_ inconvenient of times…’

‘Yes’, Barrow said, ‘It was a bit of a downer, I suppose. At least you gave me that pendant before you left.’

‘Along with the promise of meeting again’, Richard said.

‘Anyway’, Barrow said, ‘Could I perhaps buy you a drink?’

‘Sure, why not?’ Richard said, ‘That’s what a bar is for, isn’t it.’

However, before they could move, someone across the room wolf-whistled loudly.

‘Oh, for crying out loud’, Barrow said in disbelief, ‘Thanks for drawing everyone’s attention to us, Michael; can you please cut it out?’

‘Ok, if you say so’, Michael said, ‘I’ll leave you two lovebirds to do as you please.’

‘Ok’, Barrow said a few minutes later while sitting at a table, ‘The best thing about this place is…’

Suddenly, a man burst in from around the corner leading to the stairs.

‘VODKA! VODKA! VODKA!’ he shouted in a panicked voice.

‘What the?’ Richard said as Barrow stood up.

‘Oh no…not again!’ he said.

‘What’s going on?’ Richard said as the dance floor quickly cleared.

‘The cops’, Barrow said, ‘They’re on to us.’

It was then that Richard noticed something unusual happen across the room; the band area seemed to disappear behind the wall.

‘Hey’, he said, ‘What’s happened to the piano and stage?’

‘That was what I was going to tell you about’, Barrow said, ‘You see, the bar, stage and all our other fixtures in here are on turntable floors, which are controlled by the pulley fixtures on the ceiling, which in turn are activated by pulling the attached ropes. It’s so we can stay hidden during the day and for situations like this.’

‘Oh, I get it’, Richard said as they joined other patrons behind the bar.

‘Is everything hidden away, Michael?’ Barrow asked.

‘Yes’, Michael said, ‘And the ropes are tied up around the pulleys, hidden from view.

‘Good’, Barrow said as he pulled a chain behind the bar, causing it to turn around and disappear behind the wall just as there were footsteps running down the stairs.

‘What the?’ one of the people who had just come down the stairs, Officer Thompson, said, referring to the near-empty room in front of him, ‘Where the bloody ‘ell are they?’

‘Cor blimey, they can’t have just vanished into thin air now, could they?’ another voice asked.

‘That’s what I was thinking, Bradley’, Thompson said before he noticed the tables arranged in two lines spanning the back of the room.

‘‘ey’, he said upon walking over and picking a quarter-full glass up, ‘What’s this doing ‘ere? It looks and smells like beer.’

_‘That’s because it is’_ , Richard thought whilst watching from behind the wall through a near-invisible peephole made of one-way glass.’

‘Well’, Bradley said, ‘This area _is_ used as the storage room for the bar upstairs, so maybe someone ordered a drink, came down ‘ere for a while and forgot to take the cup with them when they left.’

‘Hm…perhaps’, Thompson said, ‘But I was absolutely _positive_ that I ‘eard that Amos guy a couple o’ weeks ago tell me that there was a bar operating down ‘ere illegally.’

‘Yes’, Bradley said, ‘And, if I recall correctly, ‘e and ‘is female companion made it sound as if it was, well, one of…“those” bars.’

 _‘What?’_ Barrow thought in shock upon hearing this, ‘ _I can’t believe it!’_

‘Yes’, Thompson said as he and Bradley walked back towards the stairs, ‘Six of them have been busted across Yorkshire within the past three months, the biggest was codenamed _The Silo_ , which was located in an abandoned warehouse just down the road from ‘ere.’

 _‘I remember that’_ , Barrow thought, _‘I was there that night.’_

‘Why do they even bother?’ Thompson said, ‘I mean, they _know_ it’s illegal! I suppose the crooks will always find ways and places to stay hidden, perhaps even in the last place you ever think to look.’ 

_‘Goodness’_ , Barrow thought, _‘I hope you never come to visit Downton with that attitude…’_

‘Anyway’, Thompson began before hearing something, ‘We best be…’

‘THUD!!’

‘What was that?’ Thompson asked as he and Bradley began looking around the room, ‘Do you see anything?’

‘No’, Bradley replied, ‘Do you?’

Meanwhile, the sound turned out to be Richard fainting in shock behind the wall, which, fortunately, happened at the exact moment a woman - who was Michael’s sister, Monica – pretended to faint and loudly knock a chair over upstairs on instruction from her husband.

It was then a man ran down the stairs in a panic.

‘Help, help’, he said frantically, ‘My wife has had a terrible accident upstairs; I fear she may need to go to hospital!’

‘Ok, just calm down’, Thompson said as they all rushed upstairs, ‘Now, where is she…’

**Fifteen minutes later…**

‘I think it’s safe to come out now’, Michael said as he pulled on the chain to make the bar appear again.

‘Hold on’, Daniel said, ‘Where are Barrow and Richard?’

‘Um…’ Michael said when he looked down and saw Barrow performing mouth-to-mouth on Richard to revive him from fainting.

‘Hm…wha… _whoa_!’ Richard said when he came to.

‘Good, you’re awake’, Barrow said, ‘See? I told you this place is awesome.’

‘And what’s more’, Michael said, ‘Thanks to the turntable mechanisms and false walls, we’ve outsmarted the police and can remain in operation another day.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Please read the sequel - The Best Birthday Ever!!


End file.
